Atorvastatin ameliorated myocardial fibrosis by inhibiting oxidative stress and modulating macrophage polarization in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

In this editorial, we commented on the article published in the recent issue of the World Journal of Diabetes. Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by myocardial fibrosis, ventricular hypertrophy and diastolic dysfunction in diabetic patients, which can cause heart failure and threaten the life of patients. The pathogenesis of DCM has not been fully clarified, and it may involve oxidative stress, inflammatory stimulation, apoptosis, and autophagy. There is lack of effective therapies for DCM in the clinical practice. Statins have been widely used in the clinical practice for years mainly to reduce cholesterol and stabilize arterial plaques, and exhibit definite cardiovascular protective effects. Studies have shown that statins also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. We were particularly concerned about the recent findings that atorvastatin alleviated myocardial fibrosis in db/db mice by regulating the antioxidant stress and anti-inflammatory effects of macrophage polarization on diabetic myocardium, and thereby improving DCM.

Efficacy of Huangma Ding or autologous platelet-rich gel for the diabetic lower extremity arterial disease patients with foot ulcers.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes foot is one of the most serious complications of diabetes and an important cause of death and disability, traditional treatment has poor efficacy and there is an urgent need to develop a practical treatment method. AIM: To investigate whether Huangma Ding or autologous platelet-rich gel (APG) treatment would benefit diabetic lower extremity arterial disease (LEAD) patients with foot ulcers. METHODS: A total of 155 diabetic LEAD patients with foot ulcers were enrolled and divided into three groups: Group A (62 patients; basal treatment), Group B (38 patients; basal treatment and APG), and Group C (55 patients; basal treatment and Huangma Ding). All patients underwent routine follow-up visits for six months. After follow-up, we calculated the changes in all variables from baseline and determined the differences between groups and the relationships between parameters. RESULTS: The infection status of the three groups before treatment was the same. Procalcitonin (PCT) improved after APG and Huangma Ding treatment more than after traditional treatment and was significantly greater in Group C than in Group B. Logistic regression analysis revealed that PCT was positively correlated with total amputation, primary amputation, and minor amputation rates. The ankle-brachial pressure and the transcutaneous oxygen pressure in Groups B and C were greater than those in Group A. The major amputation rate, minor amputation rate, and total amputation times in Groups B and C were lower than those in Group A. CONCLUSION: Our research indicated that diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) lead to major amputation, minor amputation, and total amputation through local infection and poor microcirculation and macrocirculation. Huangma Ding and APG were effective attreating DFUs. The clinical efficacy of Huangma Ding was better than that of autologous platelet gel, which may be related to the better control of local infection by Huangma Ding. This finding suggested that in patients with DFUs combined with coinfection, controlling infection is as important as improving circulation.

[Accumulation and biosynthesis mechanism of volatile oils in glandular scale of Agastache rugosa].

The volatile oils are the effective components of Agastache rugosa, which are stored in the glandular scale. The leaves of pulegone-type A. rugosa were used as materials to observe the leaf morphology of A. rugosa at different growth stages, and the components of volatile oils in gland scales were detected by GC-MS. At the same time, qRT-PCR was used to determine the relative expression of key enzyme genes in the biosynthesis pathway of monoterpenes in volatile oils. The results showed that the density of A. rugosa glandular scale decreased first and then tended to be stable. With the growth of leaves, the relative content of pulegone decreased from 79.26% to 3.94%(89.97%-41.44%), while that of isomenthone increased from 2.43% to 77.87%(0.74%-51.01%), and the changes of other components were relatively insignificant. The correlation analysis between the relative content of monoterpenes and the relative expression levels of their key enzyme genes showed that there was a significant correlation between the relative content of menthone and isomenthone and the relative expression levels of pulegone reductase(PR)(r>0.6, P<0.01). To sum up, this study revealed the accumulation rules of the main components of the contents of the glandular scale of A. rugosa and the expression rules of the key enzyme genes for biosynthesis, which provided a scientific basis and data support for determining the appropriate harvesting period and quality control of the medicinal herbs. This study also initially revealed the biosynthesis mechanism of the monoterpenes mainly composed of pulegone and isomenthone in A. rugosa, laying a foundation for further research on the molecular mechanism of synthesis and accumulation of monoterpenes in A. rugosa.

[Identification and analysis of terpene synthase (TPS) gene family in Schizonepeta tenuifolia].

Terpenoids are important secondary metabolites of plants that possess both pharmacological activity and economic value. Terpene synthases(TPSs) are key enzymes in the synthesis process of terpenoids. In order to investigate the TPS gene family members and their potential functions in Schizonepeta tenuifolia, this study conducted a systematic analysis of the TPS gene family of S. tenuifolia based on the whole genome data of S. tenuifolia using bioinformatics methods. The results revealed 57 StTPS members identified from the genome database of S. tenuifolia. The StTPS family members encoded 285-819 amino acids, with protein molecular weights ranging from 32.75 to 94.11 kDa, all of which were hydrophilic proteins. The StTPS family members were mainly distributed in the cytoplasm and chloroplasts, exhibiting a random and uneven physical localization pattern. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the StTPS genes family were divided into six subgroups, mainly belonging to the TPS-a and TPS-b subfamilies. Promoter analysis predicted that the TPS gene family members could respond to various stressors such as light, abscisic acid, and methyl jasmonate(MeJA). Transcriptome data analysis revealed that most of the TPS genes were expressed in the roots of S. tenuifolia, and qRT-PCR analysis was conducted on genes with high expression in leaves and low expression in roots. Through the analysis of the TPS gene family of S. tenuifolia, this study identified StTPS5, StTPS18, StTPS32, and StTPS45 as potential genes involved in sesquiterpene synthesis of S. tenuifolia. StTPS45 was cloned for the construction of an prokaryotic expression vector, providing a reference for further investigation of the function and role of the TPS gene family in sesquiterpene synthesis.